Work holder for slicing machines



April 1931- H. STUKART I WORK HOLDER FUR SLIGING MACHINES Filed April 13, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet l April 14, 1931. H. STUKART 1,801,250

WORK HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Filgd April 15. 1927 4 Sheets-$heet 2 April 14, 1931. H. STUKART I WORK HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed April 13. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 v 1 F l vrl 1 W 2 "m 40 n 0 a a 4 I Z WM J a w J. m i H f i 1H. 3 am 5 4 w a a.

April 14, 1931. H. STUKART 1,801,250

WORK HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed April 13, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Henna-Ix STUKART, or'rn PQRTE, innraim, ASSIGNOB TO U. s. srremo MACHINE COMPANY, or LA. roars, INDIANA, .e oonronemron or INDIANA WORK HOLDER- Application filed. April 13,

This invention relates to means for holding meat or other commodities to permit slices to be severed therefrom, and is especially applicable to machines in which slices are severed by relative reciprocation of the material and a rotary disc slicing knife.

/ One object of the present invention is to provide a. grip-for the material to be sliced which can be operated by one hand, leaving the other hand free to position the material.

A further object is to provide a grip which shall be supported in such position that it will not interfere with the ready placement and displacement of the material on its sup porting platform.

Another object is to provide aholding means which shall be of improved construction and operation; Other objects will appear from the following description. The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings r Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a slicing machine showing one embodiment of the pres ent inventon applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the top plate of a slicing machine having one embodiment of the present invention mounted thereto;

3 is a section substantially on line 83 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation with parts in section, of the clutch mechanism showing a modified form of guide for one arm of the grip;- y

r Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a modified detail; 1

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a different form of holder;

Fig. 7 is a section on line 77 of Fig. 6-;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation ofthe device shown in Fig. 6. p

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the base or frame of a slicing machine of well known construction having a rotary disc knife 11 and a reciprocating table 12 SLICIHG- MACHINES 1927. Serial No. 183,386.

mounted to slide on ways 13. A top plate or work support 14 is mounted to slide on the reciprocating table 12 and is intermittently fed toward the cutting plane of the knife 11 by feeding mechanism 15 which cooperates with a toothed member 16 secured to the work support 14 in a well known manner. The table 12 is reciprocated by a crank 17 and connecting rod 18 which are driven from a hand wheel 19. The knife 11 is also rotated by a connection with the hand wheel 19. The constrimtion thus far referred to is well known and requires no further description.

At the side of the work support 14 opposite the operators position are two rods or or posts 20 and 21. These posts are firmly attached to the work support 14 and are spaced from each other adjacent the edge of the work support in a direction transverse to the cutting plane of the knife 11. The side of the work support adjacent the operators posi tion is left free of any posts or other upward ly projecting supports for the work clamp. Mounted to slide vertically on the post 20 is an elongated sleeve 22 having a gripping arm 23 formed integrally therewith and extending across the top plate 14 in a direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the top plate or the edge parallel with the cutting plane of the knife. 11. The arm 23 is provided with a plate 24 secured to its lower face, the plate having two rows of teeth 25 thereon for engaging the material to be held on the plate 14. A second arm 26 is formed integrally with the sleeve 22 and extends rearwardly from the sleeve 22 substantially at right angles to the gripping arm 23. The end of the arm 26 is bifurcated to provide an opening for receiving the post 21, thus holding the sleeve 22 and the gripper 23 from horizontal rotation about the post 20. A boss 27 extends laterally from the end of the arm 26 and is provided with a spring-held friction plug 28 which bears against the post 21. The plug 28 may be made of fiber or other suitable frie tional material and the pressure of the spring 29 which holds the plug may be regulated by a screw 30 so that the friction will be sufficient to prevent the sleeve 22 end the clamp 23 supported thereon from sliding down wardly under the force of gravity. The ad justment is such that a slight force in addition to the weight of the parts attached to the sleeve 22 will move the sleeve and clamp downwardly.

It will be noted that the spring-held plug 28 bears on the side of the post 21 in a position-to hold the bifurcation at the opposite side of the post incontact with the surface of the post. This will tend to rotate the clamping element about the post 20 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 so as to hold the clamp 23 at all. times in a fixed position relative to the cutting plane of theknife. Without some form of device for taking up lost motion between the post 21 and the bifurcations of the arm 26, the clamp 23, after'the parts have become worn, might have slight backward and forward movement' so that when pressure is exerted on material held by the clamp, by the knife 11, there might be a slight yielding, backwardly, of theclamp and material, resulting inuneven slices- It will be noted that the knife 11 exerts a force in a direction parallel to its cutting plane tending to rotate the material held by the clamp in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, but since the clamp is always at the extremity of any pos sible movement in this direction, there will be no yielding of the material due to lost motion when the material is encountered by the knife.

The sleeve 22 is provided with a notch or recess 31 which is in registration with the arms 23 and 26 so that the separated ends of the sleeve are held in rigid fixed relation to each other by the portions of the arms 23 and 26 which bridge the recess 31. A plate 32 is horizontally disposed in the recess 31 and is provided with an opening through which the post 20 extends. The plate 32 rests on a stop 33 projecting forwardlyfrom the lower portion of the sleeve 22. A plug 34: bears upon the plate 32 in a position slightly in the rear of the support33, the plug being pressed downwardy by a spring 35 which is held in place a screw 36 by means of which the tension of the spring 35 may be regulated.

The plate 32 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 37 which is disposed beneath the arm 26 and has its rear end bent upwardly at 38 and extending into an opening 39 in the arm 26. The end portion 38 forms a limit stop for limiting the upward movement of the arm 37 so that when the arm 37 is drawn to its uppermost position, the plate 32 will be disposed substantially normal to thejaxis of the post 20 and will be free to move either up or down on the post. A spring 40 supplements the action of gravity and the pressure of the spring 35 in holding the arm 37 in its lower-most position. The downward movement .QfI' t e a m is limited by the gripping action of the opening through the plate 32 upon the post 20. It will be readily seen that in its normal position, the plate 32 will be canted so that it will grip the post 20 and resist upward movement exerted by the stop 33 against the forward end of the plate 32. The plate 32 thus forms a clutch loop which automatically grips the post 20 and holds the clamp in the extreme lower position to which it may be-moved. To release the clampand raise it upwardly. it is only necessary to press; upwardly on the arm 37 which pressure will release the clutch loop formed by the plate 32 and at the same time raise the clamp. It will now be apparent that the clamp may be moved either up or down by one hand of the operator. To move the clamp up, it is only necessary to place the hand beneath the arm 37 and lift upwardly. This automatically releases the clutch loop and the same force, if continued, will raise the clamp to any desired position. The clamp will remain in its adjusted position, being held by the frictional contact between the plug 28 and post 21. I When it is desired to movethe clamp downwardly into engagement with a piece of material to be held on the plate 14:, it is only necessary .to

exert sufiicient force on the top of the arm 26 to overcome the friction between the plug 28 and the post 21 to move the clamp downwardly into contact with the material.

In actual operation, ithas been found that the clamp may be readily operated even by the use of a single finger, and that it is not necessary to exert excessived ownward force to cause the gripper 23 to firmly grip a piece of material on the plate 14L. In .fact, if the clamp is given an impulse downwardly, the v momentum attained by the downward movement, due to the weight of the clamp, will produce a firmer gripping action on the meat than can be secured in other forms of clamps by the pressure an operator is able to exert when applied to a clamp in stationary contact with the meat. r

The plug 34, while assisting in holding the plate 32in its canted position, also prevents any chatterof the plate 32 between the top and bottom faces of the recess 31. Without some means for preventing movement of the plate 32 between the top and bottom of the recess 31, there is a tendency of the plate to chatter when the sleeve 22 is moved along the post 20.

It will be noted that when the gripping bar 23 is move-d downwardly into'engagement with material on the supporting plate 14, the force which moves the gripping bar downwardly will be exerted at the end of the bar adjacent thesupporting post 20 so that this force will not prevent the resistance of the material from being transmitted through the gripping bar to the supporting post 20 and any yielding of the post 29 to the stress due to the resistance of the material to be held will take place and begin as soon as the resistance makes itself felt and increases to a maximum until the inertia force (clamping energy) of the clamp has been expended at which moment the clutching mechanism locks the gripper bar down against material. This prevents any springing back of the post and supporting parts (anticlamping spring or spring in opposite direction of clamping effect). In clamping devices where the gripping bar is pressed downwardly by pressure on the bar itself and locked in its gripping position while the pressure is still exerted on the bar, it is apparent that upon release of the bar, the stress thereon will be transmitted to the support for the bar and any yielding of the support will tend to release the gripping action of the bar. This is not true with the present invention for the force which moves the gripper into contact with the material is exerted, not on the bar itself, but adjacent the support 20 upon which the bar is mounted, leaving the bar free to exert a bending moment on the supporting post while the pressure is still exerted on the manipulating arm 26. This-puts all the spring into the support and permits the clutch to grip the upright 20 while the parts are under the same stress to which they are subjected during the entire gripping operation of the apparatus. Where the gripping bar is moved into contact with the work by imparting an impulse to the manipulating arm 26 and sleeve 22, it is apparent that the momentum of these parts tends to carry these parts downwardly after the gripping bar 23 itself is arrested by the work so that any spring in the post 20 and support therefor will be taken up and the sleeve 22 will be locked at the extremity of its downward movement, and there will be no subsequent loosening of the gripping bar 23 due to spring in the post 20 and its support or in the gripping bar itself since all of this spring force has been stored up in the parts at the time that the bar is locked in its lowermost position. v

In order that the sleeve 22 may slide freely on the post 20 without binding, it has been found advisable to restrict the bearing surface between the post and sleeve to a short portion at the top and bottom ends of the sleeve, as shown clearly in Fig. 4. In order to prevent the clutch plate 32 from scarring or nicking the post 20, the contact edge of the opening through the plate 32 is rounded, as shownin Fig. 4 and the plateitself is preferably made of somewhat softer material than the post 20. The post 20, the plate 82, and the sleeve 22 maybe made of non-rusting metal so that the parts will always move freely relative to one another. The post 21 and the portion of the arm 26 which engages the post 21 may also be made of non-rusting material to prevent corrosion and sticking.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1,2 and 3, the space between the bifurcations at the end of the arm 26, as previously on plained, is somewhat greater than the diameter of the post 21 and the play is taken up by the spring-held plug 28. A slight relative movement is desirable at this point for the reason that when the post 20 is placed under stress, it will yield a slight amount, placing it out of true parallelism with the post 21. This tends to rotate the arm 26 on a horizontal axis which would cause the bifurcations at the end of the arm to bind upon the post 21, if they were given a tight fit. In the form of the invention shown in Fig. A, a bifurcated block is secured to the arm 26 by a swivel pin 46 which permits rotation of the bifurcated block to compensate for any displacement of the arm 26 due to yielding of the post 20.

In Fig. 5. the inner faces 47 of the bifurcations on the arm 26 are rounded to permit a. swivelling action of the arm 26 without causing the bifurcations to bind upon the post 21.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the handle member 50 is disposed at an acute angle to the gripping bar 23 and is provided with a clutch plate 51 which engages the post 20 in a manner similar to the clutch plate 32. A handle or grip 52 is socured to the clutch plate 51 by a screw 53 and is held downwardly by a spring 54:. A spring-held pin 55 engages the outer end of the plate 51 and holds it in position on a fulcrum lug 56. An arm 57 is secured to the sleeve .58 which slides upon the upright 20. Screws 59 hold the arm 57 in place on the sleeve. The rear end of the arm 57 is bifurcated as shown at 60 and engages the upright 21 in a manner similar to the construction shown in Fig. 1. The offset or angular position of the hand 50 permits the posts 20 and 21 to be positioned closer together than can be done with the construction shown in the other figures without interfering with e the space for the operators hand.

I claim 1. A work holder comprising an upright standard, a sleeve slidably mounted on said standard, a gripper projecting laterally from said sleeve, an arm extending laterally from said sleeve at an angle to said gripper, a post for engaging said arm, and means for effecting frictional engagement between said post and arm to hold said sleeve against downward movement under the force of gravity but permitting downward movement of said sleeve when additional force is exerted thereon in a downward direction.

2. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, a pair of spaced upright standards mounted on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, asleeve slidably mounted on one of said standards, a gripper rigidly fixed to said sleeve and projecting laterally therefrom, an arm carried by said sleeve and extending laterally therefrom at an angle to said gripper and having means thereon slidably engaging the other of said standards, a

clutch for holding said sleeve against upward movement, and means for releasing said clutch to permit upward movement of said sleeve. 7

i 3. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate a pair of spaced uprights on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on one of said uprights, an arm extending laterally from said sleeve and engaging the other of said uprights, a clutch loop carried by said sleeve and'engaging said first-named upright to hold said sleeve against upward movement, a gripper rigidly mounted on said sleeve and projecting laterally therefrom at an angle to said arm, and means for releasing said clutch loop when upward pressure is exerted thereon.

4. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, an upright at one side of said plate, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar carried by said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate, means preventing rotation of said bar around said upright, said upright and said means being located on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the 0perators position, a clutching device connected with said sleeve for engaging said upright to hold said sleeve against upward movement along said upright, and an arm for releasing said clutching device, said arm be-.

ing arranged to extend away from said sleeve in a direction substantially normal to said gripping bar and parallel to the side of said plate upon which said upright is located.

5. A work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright at one side of said plate, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright. a gripping bar rigid with said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate, means preventing rotation of said bar around said upright, said upright and said means being located on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a manipulating arm secured to said sleeve and extending along the side of said plate on right, a gripping bar fixed to said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate, a manipulating arm secured to said sleeve and projecting therefrom substantially at right angles to said gripping bar and parallelto the side of said plate on which said upright is mounted, a second upright mounted on said plate adjacent the same side thereof as said first-named upright but spaced from said first-named upright, means on said manipulating arm for engaging said secondnamed upright to hold said sleeve and gripping bar from rotation about said firstnained upright, a clutch connected with said sleeve for holding said sleeve and gripping bar against upward movement on said upright,.and a releasing lever for said clutch disposedbeneath said manipulating arm so that upward movement on said releasing lever will first release said clutch and then raise said manipulating arm and sleeve.

7. A work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent one edge thereof, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar rigid with said sleeve and extending across said plate, a manipulating armsecured to said sleeve and extending therefrom in a direction substantially parallel to the'edge of said plate onwhich said upright is mounted, a second upright mounted on said plate and engaging said manipulating arm to hold said sleeve and gripping bar from horizontal rotation about the axis of said sleeve, means on said manipulating arm for frictionally engaging said second-named upright to hold said sleeve and gripping bar from moving downwardly under the force of gravity but permitting downward movement thereof when additional force is exertedin a down ward direction, a clutch connected with said sleeve for engaging said first-named upright to hold said sleeve and gripping bar against upward movement, and a device for releasing said clutch disposed beneath said manipulating arm and operable by upward pressure thereon. V

8. The combination with a slicing knife, of a work holder for presenting material to 1 said knife, said work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate at one edge thereof, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar rigidly connected with said sleeve and extending therefrom across said plate in .a direction substantially parallel to the cutting plane of said knife, a second upright mounted on said plate and spaced from said first-named upright ina direction substantially normal to the cutting plane of said knife, an arm extending from said sleeve to said secondnamed upright, and frictional means on said arm for engaging said second-named upright to hold said sleeve and gripping bar against downward movement under the force of gravity.

9. The combination. with a slicing knife, 7 of a work holder for presenting material to said knife, said work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent one edge thereof, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar fixed to said sleeve and projecting there 10' from across said plate in a direction substantially parallel to the cutting planeof said knife, means connected with said sleeve forpreventing rotation of said gripping bar in a horizontal direction away from the cuti5 ting plane of said knife and resilient means for holding said gripping bar at the limit of its movement away from the cutting plane of said knife. a 10. The combination with a slicing knife, of a work holder forpresenting material to said knife, said work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent one edge thereof, a sleeve h slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping 25 bar fixed to said sleeve and extending therefromacross said plate in a direction substantialy parallel to the cutting plane of said knife, an arm fixed to said sleeve and extend ing therefrom in a direction substantially 36 normal to the cutting plane of said knife, a second upright mounted on said plate, a stop on said arm for engaging said second-named upright for limitingrotation of sait gripping bar about said upright away from the cutting 3 plane of said knife, and resilient means carried by said arm and engaging said secondnamed upright for holding sa1d grippingbar at the limit of its movement away from the cutting plane of said knife.

11. The combination with a slicing knife, of a work holder for presenting material to said knife, said work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent one edge thereof, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar rigid with said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate in adirection substantially parallel to the cutting plane of said .4 .knife, a manipulating arm fixed to said sleeve "and projecting therefrom in a direction substantially normal to the cutting plane of said knife, .a second upright mounted on said plate and spaced from said first-named up I right and engaging said arm, said arm having a stop thereon co-operating with said,

second-namedupright to limit rotation of said gripping bar about said first-named upright away from the cutting plane of said g knife, and a resiliently held friction device carried by said arm and bearing againstthe side ofsaid second-named upright opposite that engaged by said stop to hold said stop against said second-named upright and to prevent downward movement ofsaid sleeve and parts carried thereby under the force of gravity.

12. The combination with a slicing machine comprising a slicing knife, and a reciprocating table, of .a work holder mounted on said table and comprising a work supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate ad j acent the edge thereof away from the operators side of said slicing machine, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar fixed to said sleeve and projecting there from across said plate in a direction substantially parallel to the cutting plane of said knife, the space between said gripping bar and plate being unobstructed at the side of said plate adjacent the operators position, a clutch connected with said sleeve for engaging said upright to hold the gripping bar against upward movement, frictional means for holding said gripping bar against downward movement under the force of gravity, a handle for moving said sleeve up and down, said handle being located at the side of said plate away from the operators position, and means disposed adjacent said handle for releasing said clutch.

13. The combination with a slicing machine having a slicing knife, of a work holder for presenting material to said knife, said workholder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent the edge thereof away from the operators side of said slicing machine, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar fixed to said sleeve and extending therefrom across said plate in a direction substantially parallel to the cutting plane of said knife, the space between said gripping bar and plate being unobstructed at the side of said plate adjacent the operators postion, a manipulating bar secured to said sleeve and extending therefrom in a direction substantially normal to the cutting plane of said knife and parallel to the edge of said plate on which said upright is mounted, a-second upright mounted on said plate and spaced from said first-named upa right in a direction substantially normal to the cutting plane of said knife, said manipulating bar having a stop thereon for engaging said second-named upright to limit rotation of said gripping bar away from the cutting plane of said knife, a spring-held friction member carried by said manipulating bar and engaging the side of said second-named upright opposite that engaged by said stop to hold said stop and upright in close contact and to exert frictional resistance on said upright against downward movement of said sleeve and parts carried thereby, under the force of gravity, a clutch loop surrounding said first-named upright and engaging said sleeve to hold said sleeve against upward movement on said upright, and a releasing lever for said clutch loop disposed beneath said manipulating bar.

' 14'. A work-holder' for a slicing machine comprising a work support, an upright mounted on said support, an elongated sleeve surrounding said upright and having restricted bearing portions at the top and bottom of said sleeve respectively, a gripper rigid with said sleeve and projecting across said work support, and a clutch loop carried by said sleeve and surrounding said upright, said clutch loop having an opening therethrough for engaging said upright, the contacting portions of said clutch member being rounded to prevent them from marring said upright and for permitting quick release of said clutch loop.

15, A Work holder for slicing machines comprising a work support, an upright mounted on said support, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright 'and having restrictedbearing portions adjacent the top and bottom of said sleeve respectively, and a clutch plate having an opening therethrough for receiving said upright, said clutch plate having rounded bearing portions for engaging said upright formed of softer materal than the material of said upright.

16. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, an upright disposed at the side ofsaid plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar fixed to said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate, a manipulating arm secured to said'sleeve and projecting therefrom at an angle to said gripping bar,

a second upright mounted on said plate adjacent the same side thereof as said firstnamed upright but spaced from said firstnamed upright, means connected with said sleeve for engaging said second-named upright to hold said sleeve and gripping bar fromrotation about said first-named upright, a clutch connected with said sleeve for holding said sleeve and gripping bar against upward movement on said upright, and a releasing lever for said clutch disposed beneath said manipulating arm so that upward movement on said releasing lever will first release said clutch and then raise said manipulating arm and sleeve.

17. The combination with a slicing machine having a slicing knife, of a work holder for presenting material to said knife, said work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright mounted on said plate adjacent the therefrom atan angle to thecutting'plane s! said knife, a second upright mounted on said plate and spaced from said first-named upright in a direction substantially normal to the cutting plane of said knife, a stop secured to said sleeve for engaging said second-named upright to limit rotation of said gripping bar away from the cutting plane of said knife, a spring-held friction member connected with said sleeve and engaging the side of said'second-named upright opposite that engaged by said stop to hold said stop and upright in close contact and to exert frictional resist ance on said upright against downward movement of said sleeve, a clutch loop surrounding said first-named upright and engaging said sleeve to hold said sleeve against upward movement on said upright, and a releasing lever for said clutch loop disposed beneath said manipulating bar.

18. A work holder for a slicing machine comprising a work support, an upright projecting upwardly from said work support, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, and a gripper carried by said sleeve and projecting over said support, said gripperbeing so constructed that the clamping force exerted on said gripper and the reaction of the substance on said gripper tend to bend said upright, said sleeve having a short bearing portion engaging said support adjacent the bottom of said sleeve, and a second bearing portion spaced upwardly from said first-named bearing portion,'there being a space between said bearing portions in which said upright is not engaged by said sleeve.

19. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a work support, an upright projecting upwardly from said support at .the side of said support opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping member secured to said sleeve and projecting toward the side of said support adjacent the operators position across said work support, and a handle secured'to said sleeve and extending therefrom at an oblique angle to said gripper.

20. In a slicing machine, a work support, an upright mounted on said work support at the side of said support opposite the side adj acentthe operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripper secured to said sleeve and extending across said Work support toward'the'side of said support adjacent the operators position, a

handle secured to said sleeve and extending therefrom at an oblique angle to said gripper, a clutch connected with said sleeve, and means carried by said handle for releasing said clutch.

21. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, a pair of spaced uprights adjacent one edge of said plate, a sleeve slidably mounted on one of said uprights, a gripper secured to said sleeve and projecting'across said upright, an arm secured to said sleeve and engaging the other of said uprights to hold said gripper from rotation about said first-named upright, and a handle secured to said sleeve and spaced from said arm. and gripper.

22. In a slicing machine, the combination of a work holder comprising a work support, an upright on the side of said support opposite the operators side, a sleeve slidably mounted on said bar having non-reversing locking means thereon preventing upward movement of said sleeve, a clamping bar rigid with said sleeve and extending over said work support toward the side adjacent the operators side, means preventing rotation of said bar around said upright, and means for manipulating said bar and locking means,

. both of said means being positioned to leave unobstructed the side of said support adjacent the operators position.

23. In a slicing machine, the combination of a work holder comprising a work support,

- an upright on the side of said support opposite the operators side, a clamping bar slidably mounted on said upright, non-reversing locking means preventing upward movement of said sleeve, means positioned adjacent said upright for releasing said lock, and a manipulating handle for said clamping bar, said handle being positioned at an angle to said clamping bar and extending along the side of said Work support opposite the side adjacent the operators position.

24. In a slicing machine, the combination of a work holder comprising a work support, an upright on the side of said support opposite the operators side, a clamping bar slidably mounted on said upright, non-reversing locking means preventing upward movement of said sleeve, a combined clamp operating handle and lock releasing means extending at an angle to said clamping bar along the side of said work support opposite the side adjacent the operators position.

25. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate upon which the substance to be sliced is adapted to be placed, a pair of spaced uprights mounted on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on one of said standards, a gripper mounted on said sleeve and projecting laterally therefrom, an arm carried by said sleeve and extending laterally therefrom at an angle to said gripper and having means thereon slidably engaging the other of said standards, a clutch for holding said sleeve against upward movement, and means for releasing said clutch to permit upward movement of said sleeve.

26. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, a pair of spaced uprights on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a sleeve slidably mounted on one of said uprights, an arm extending laterally from said sleeve and engaging the other of said uprights, a clutch loo carried by said sleeve and engaging said rst-named upright to hold said sleeve against upward movement, a gripper mounted on said sleeve and projecting laterally therefrom at an angle to said arm, and means for releasing said clutch loop when upward pressure is exerted thereon.

27. A work holder comprising a supporting plate, an upright at one side of said plate, a sleeve slidably mounted on said upright, a gripping bar operatively connected to said sleeve and projecting therefrom across said plate, means for preventing rotation of said bar about said upright, said upright and means being located on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent the operators position, a manipulating arm secured to said sleeve and extending along the side of said plate on which the upright is mounted, a clutch connected with said sleeve for engaging said upright to hold said sleeve against upward movement on said upright, and a releasing arm for said clutch disposed adjacent said manipulating arm.

28. A work holder for slicing machines comprising a supporting plate, a sleeve, a gripper mounted on said sleeve and projecting laterally therefrom, an upright standard mounted on the side of said plate opposite the side adjacent tothe operators poition and on which said sleeve and gripper are adapted to slide in restrained relation to each other and for the purpose of clamping material between said gripper and said supporting plate, means on the same side of said plate with said upright for preventing rotation of said sleeve on said upright, a clutch for holding said sleeve against upward movement, and means for releasing said clutch to permit upward movement of said sleeve.

29. A work holder comprising a vertically movable gripping member, an operating member thereon, a one-way clutch for holding said gripping member against upward movement, and a friction device for supporting said member when in inoperative position against downward movement by gravity and for yielding when additional downward force is exerted on said operating member to permit the downward movement of said gripping member, said clutch being operable to re lease said gripping member without first changing the position of said gripping member.

30. A work holder comprising an upright guide, a gripping member movable along said guide, an operating abutment on said gripping member, a clutch for'holding said gripping member against upward movement on said guide and releasable Without first changing the position of said gripping member, and

a friction device for holding said gripping member when in inoperative position from sliding downwardly along said guide, but permitting downward movement of said gripping member when a downward pressure is exerted on said abutment.

31. A work holder comprising an upright guide, a gripping member movable along said guide, an operating abutment on said gripping member, a clutch for holding said gripping member against upward movement on said guide and releasable without affecting the position of the gripping member, and a friction device for holding said gripping member when an inoperative position from sliding downwardly along said'guide but permitting downward movement thereof when force is applied to said operating abutment for the purpose of clamping the substance.

32. A work holder comprising a vertically movable clamping member, an operating abutment thereon, a one-way clutch for holding said clamping member against upward movement, said clutch having an operating extension thereon for releasing the same without affecting the position of the clamp ing member, and a friction device for supporting said clamping member'when in inoperative position and against downward move ment under theforce of gravity, said friction device permitting said operating member to be moved downwardly when additional force is exerted on said operating member in a downward direction.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 11th day of April, A. D. 1927.

HENDRIK STUKART. 

